Richard Harrow’s World

So far here’s what we know about Boardwalk Empire’s War World I veteran Richard Harrow:

He grew up on a farm in Wisconsin with his twin sister, Emma, and they were very close, as twins will be. (What Does the Bee Do?) It was the closest emotional tie he has ever had with any other person, and his sister nursed him when he came back from the war with half his face blown off. He found himself devoid of emotions and so he left and went to Chicago.

There he met Jimmy Darmody at the Veteran’s Hospital, and tells him he was a sniper in the war. A handy skill in Jimmy’s line of work. Darmody learns that Richard is a virgin and quickly remedies that by taking him back to Johnny Torrio’s brothel, where he hooks him up with Odette. (Home: S1 Ep 7)  Richard is only too happy to repay Jimmy’s friendship by killing Liam, the thug who slashed the face of Pearl, one of the hookers Jimmy had feelings for.

Jimmy brings Harrow back to Atlantic City with him and they go to work for Nucky. They help take out the D’Alessio Brothers. He stays at Nucky’s house for a while, where he at first scares the children, but manages to charm them and their mother, Margaret, while she is reading the Wizard of Oz. He says he is the Tin Woodsman. In that episode, we got a little peek into his private torment when he had a dream that he was on a beach and was not disfigured at first but as a young woman ran toward him, she suddenly began screaming.

In Season 2, Harrow remains Jimmy’s sidekick, even when Jimmy switches allegiance to his father, the Commodore, who has plans to get Nucky sent to prison. We get more insight into his loneliness when Jimmy’s wife Angela sketches him without his mask.

In Gimcrack and Bunkum (S2 E17), Richard Harrow is alone in his room on Memorial Day, looking through his scrapbook. He comes to the drawing Angela did of what he really looks like now. On the opposite side is what he looked like before. He gets a knife, an apple and a shotgun together and we later see him being dropped of in the woods. He calmly removes his mask, eats his apple, puts on his dog tags, lays down and sticks the barrel of the shotgun in his mouth. A really ugly dog shows up and takes the mask. Reality kicks in and Harrow goes into survival mode, telling the dog to come back because he needs the mask, and he chases the dog until he can’t anymore.

He is found by a trapper named Pete (Jon DeVries) who brings him back to a little camp where his friend Glenmore (Bill Camp) and the dog sit near a fire. They give Harrow back his mask and invite him to join them in a squirrel dinner and some strong moonshine. Harrow tells them he was out in the woods hunting and left his things by a pond, but they know it’s not true, especially when he asks them what he should do with the squirrel bones. Glenmore offers Harrow a ride back to town and Pete lets Harrow know in a round-about way that no one wants to find his dead body in the woods. “These woods are for living,” Pete says, “Do you understand me there?”

Harrow returns to Atlantic City and seeks out Jimmy Darmody. He finds more purpose to live when he asks Jimmy “Would you fight for me?” Jimmy responds that he will, “right down to the last bullet.” (Strange choice of words, we thought, since his weapon of choice is usually a knife). He ably assists Jimmy in bringing about the demise of  Parkhurst, an old man in a wheelchair who is the latest person to get on Jimmy’s bad side by whacking him in the head with a cane.

More Boardwalk Empire characters:

In the Age of Reason, Harrow joins Jimmy in a hijack attempt that turns into a business deal and as plans are made in Peg of Old to kill Nucky, Harrow can’t believe Eli is that low.

When Nucky steps down in Two Boats and a Lifeguard, Jimmy tells Harrow he shares in the victory and will have everything he wants. Harrow is not too sure and attempts to express his concerns to Jimmy in Battle of the Century.

In Georgia Peaches, Harrow accompanies Jimmy to try to make a deal with Chalky White when Nucky’s Irish whiskey shipment puts them out of business. Harrow doesn’t accompany Jimmy when he leaves town to try to sell his share of the bootleg liquor.

Gillian intervenes when the deputy Sheriff tries to question Harrow about Jimmy’s whereabouts in Under God’s Power. Later when Jimmy returns and the Commodore ends up dead, Harrow cleans up the mess.

In To the Lost, Jimmy and Harrow drink together when Jimmy gets a call from Nucky. Harrow offers to take go with him and take care of things but Jimmy tells him it is something he must do alone.

In the Season 3 premiere, Resolution, Harrow is taking care of Tommy Darmody. He wants Tommy to remember his mother, Angela, talks about her and shows the boy her paintings. Gillian is brainwashing Tommy to forget Angela and she gives Harrow a thinly veiled warning that he will be out on his keester if he keeps it up. Harrow avenges Angela’s death by killing Manny Horvitz.

In Bone for Tuna, Harrow learns Mickey Doyle has been taking the credit for the killing Horvitz. He sets the record straight on that with Nucky Thompson.